The romantic spy thriller "Qiu Xi" by director Sun Zhou will hit cinemas on the mainland in mid-October, according to sina.com reports.

The story takes place in wartime Guangzhou before the country's liberation by the Communist Party of China in 1949. A young woman named Qiu Xi is a "boat person", or Tanka, living in the coastal area of Guangdong Province.

Qiu Xi, played by actress Jiang Yiyan, becomes a servant to Yan Haiqing, played by actor Guo Xiaodong. She finds herself falling for the undercover communist agent who works with the Kuomintang regime that ruled China until 1949. The story unfolds as the two fall for each other but are kept at distance because of the wartime situation.

"Qiu Xi" is what the Tankas used to call their daughters before they got married. It literally means "the joy of autumn," and in the film it suggests the impending success of the liberation in October 1949.

The 45-million-yuan (US $6.5 mln) film comes several years after Sun Zhou's widely acclaimed movies "Zhou Yu's Train" in 2002 and "Breaking the Silence" in 2000, both starring actress Gong Li. Although Zhou is not a prolific director, his films are known for their exploration of humanity and the genuinely virtuous nature of people.